Melbourne Mums Outrage Over Public Rooms

A Doncaster mum has spoken out over being inconvenienced while breastfeeding her three-month-old son in a parents room at a shopping centre because a Muslim woman was using a private cubicle to pray.

The mother, name Tatjana, now wants Westfield Doncaster to put signage above the cubicles saying they are only to be used by nursing mums.

But Westfield Doncaster says it will only police the use of the rooms if it discovered “publicly indecent or dangerous activity” was taking place.

Westfield Doncaster does not currently have any prayer rooms.

The mother, whose surname was not given to the Herald Sun, said she went to the shopping centre on October 14 to pick up her elder daughter from work and while she was waiting, needed to change her baby boy.

When she went into the parent's room looking for privacy, they were all occupied. Tatjana said she had to then reluctantly feed her son on the couch in a shared area where kids were running about.

She said that when a child opened the curtain of a cubicle ‘’there was the woman on the floor praying,”

Now I don’t have issues with religion or praying, but I was shocked that this family thought it was OK to take up this room to pray, while my son was denied a feeding room.

“I hope no other mother has to endure this, and I would like to see signage in these rooms explaining what they are used for.”

Westfield Doncaster spokesperson Julia Clarke told Leader that “we rely on shoppers’ goodwill to use the amenities for their primary purpose”.